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Apprenticeship Test: Introductions
Introductions are made In the early morning of day one of the Apprenticeship test, the seneschal of Dragon Fang cries out: : "Welcome to Dragon Fang. By decree of Lady Fang, anyone wishing to be considered for an apprenticeship, step forward and make yourself known to the court." About 12 people came forward, including: * Aaron, a lad from the mountains who wished to become a solider. * Asheron, a likely young man who thought he might become a falconer for Lady Fang's Blood Hawks. * Daisy, a girl from far away in the kingdom who hoped to find a place in the kitchen. * Gareth, a big, strong boy who would make a good blacksmith. * Kim, a lovely young girl who is interested in securing a place as a weaver. * Lucky, a young orphan boy who would like to be a hunter. * Young Mog Wiggan, a scrawny country lad who thought that horses might be interesting, because "Da says they're just like goats". He's clearly a bit young but shows terrific energy and enthusiasm for apprenticeship. The competitions After introductions, they were sent running for the stables, where the Stable Master asked them to feed a horse an apple, saddle it and lead it around. Wiggan did quite well at this, convincing his steed to bow to the Stable Master. Lucky, not so well. Aaron ran off with one of the stable girls. Other competitions took place in the bailey (main courtyard), the great hall and the jousting field outside the castle. Notable competitions included: * Archery, which Wiggan won (Lucky, not so much). * Cooking, which everyone one enjoyed judging (except for Kim who thought everyone's efforts were terrible). Daisy's practice of slipping a love philter into her dishes was considered unorthodox, but interesting nonetheless. * Falconry, which both Asheron and Aaron thought that they excelled at and Wiggan did well until he untethered a bird & it flew off. * Juggling. After a little bit of training, Daisy and Kim did exceptionally well. Lucky, not so much. * Singing, which Gareth excelled at. * Sword training, where Aaron did quite well. * Weaving. Kim wove a beautiful piece showing the crest of Lord Fang. She demonstrated that she was, indeed, a highly skilled weaver. * Wrestling, where Asheron did well. In the hammer-bell, Daisy almost took her foot off. While concerned for her safety, everyone was impressed that she was willing to have a go. "I'm good at that," Lucky cried at almost every competition, including the hammer-bell. It wasn't true, but he tried hard. Indeed, he tried so hard at the archery that he snapped his string, lacerating his face and almost taking out his eye. Undaunted, he went on to win the greasy pig hunt and got to keep the pig, Arnold. The Weapon Smith Late in the day there was great excitement when the Weapon Smith arrived. He is the greatest creator of armour and weapons in the kingdom. Lady Fang invited him to the Apprenticeship Test as an outside judge of this year's finishing apprentices. He strode into the bailey clad in golden armour and laid an enormous beautiful sword down on the ground as a gift to Lord Fang. Presentation of the Apprentices That evening Lady Fang presided over a great feast to welcome the Weapon Smith and celebrate the achievements of the finishing apprentices. Singing, dancing and some flirting took place. Besides Lady Fang and the Weapon Smith, other notable people at the feast were: * In an attempt to avoid Mistress Twonky, Kim had a long conversation with Father Michael, the spiritual leader of the Christians at the castle. * Aaron spent much of the night falling deeply in love with with Nicole, daughter of the Master at Arms. * Wiggan also formed an attachment with Gwynelle, the Castellan's daughter. After the feast, this years finishing apprentices made their presentations. This year, six apprentices are being judged: * Young Michael, a squire in training. * Thomas, a blacksmith's apprentice. * Rowan, apprentice game warden. * Catherine, a player in training. * Mouse (Michelle), a young holy woman. * Ann, a maker of mosaics. They performed a short play about the Hero of Dragon Fang to demonstrate their different specialties: * Michael was the hero, demonstrating his knowledge of chivalry and the sword. * Mouse played the part of the Goblin King, demonstrating her knowledge of the evils of the world. * Rowan controlled a Blood Hawk which acted as the Goblin King's dragon. * Thomas had made armour for Michael to wear as the Hero. In the play, he acted all the other parts. * Catherine had written the play and was the narrator for the story. The evening ended in some scandal when Ann, who was clearly supposed to have created a mosaic of the Hero, revealed instead a mosaic showing all of the holy sites of the Dragon Fang lands. She presented this mosaic to Lady Fang in a clear attempt to curry favour with her. Category:Session records